Le Weekly #15 – Being New ✨

One quote, one word, one story, one neigh from Philosophical Horse and one question.

Greetings everyone. Happy Monday!

Take a moment to reflect on each snippet. Comment your thoughts below.

Note: Apologies for the 45-minute delay! (Technological blunder on my side).

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Le Quote 🗣

“You must first learn to walk and run and climb and dance before you can fly.” – My astrology app.

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Le Word 💬

mode (noun). a way or manner in which something occurs or is experienced, expressed, or done.

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Le Shoutout 🧣

When you walk into the gym in the morning, you see all the people. All of them are always there, always.

Except for me over the last two months. I wasn’t there every morning. I was in bed for a change. At the end of last year, I realised I needed to prioritise sleep for a bit.

Two months of sleep has done me well. I’m feeling rested, but now I am back.

“Long time, boet.”

“You’ve been scarce.”

“You’re alive.”

“Mike!”

“Jeepers, Happy New Year, dude.”

Starting your day with the same group of strangers for two-plus years is significant. You don’t realise how often you see someone until you stop seeing them. And then, when that stranger returns, you feel a sense of comfort that can’t be explained.

Two of the people who are always at the gym in the morning are the Gebers twins. They are always in brightly coloured shirts and tights, and their hair is always damp from the swimming pool.

Last week, while doing some tricep pull-downs, I saw Sophie Gebers in her bright-as-always gym kit. After I’d finished the pull-downs, I meandered over to the “mobility area” to stretch. There, I saw Bella Gebers. Bella, however, was not wearing her bright-as-always gym kit; she was wearing a full black outfit, something I had never seen before.

“Nice outfit!” I exclaimed, surprised. “New look!”

“Thanks,” she said. “It’s my new mode. Ninja mode.”

“Love it. Looks good. I’m also in a new mode,” I said.

“And what’s that?” she asked.

“Well, it’s an old mode that I’m bringing back. Beastmode,” I said. “I’ve been in creative mode for a while, but I need to reactivate Beastmode.”

“Why not be both?” Bella asked. “Why not be a creative beast?”

I raised my eyebrows.

Why not be both?

Why not be two modes at once?

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I walked back to Bella about 20 minutes later to ask if I could feature her in Le Weekly. She said yes, so I asked her if she had anything to share with you, the readers.

“Hmm. Well, now I’m on the spot,” she started.

Then, without hesitation:

“Be kind,” she said.

Shoutout Bella

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Letter from Le Editor 📝

Greetings everyone,

As we near the end of February, I need to update you on Le Journey.

Over the course of 2022/23, I attempted to pivot Le Scarf from a part-time blog to a full-time printed publication. To do this, I left my job, dipped into my savings, and embarked on a media quest.

I was confident I’d be able to secure sponsors, cover print costs and rev as a one-man media company with the goal of one day assembling a small team around me.

Sadly, sponsors didn’t come after the first print, so I bootstrapped round two and printed a second edition. Sadly, sponsors still didn’t bite, so I printed a third, a fourth, and a fifth. After 18 months, the budget finally ran out. Le Blogue shuddered to a halt, and things got rather rocky on my side. After lots of honest reflection, soul-searching, universal experiences, prayer, and constructive conversations, I came to understand what I needed to do next:

As of TODAY (19th of February 2024), I find myself at the start of a new adventure. I was accepted into Red & Yellow (Creative School of Business) to do an Advanced Diploma in Marketing and Advertising. In two hours, I step back into the classroom.

What does this mean for Le Scarf? I will continue writing Le Weekly until Newsletter #52 is completed. Due to being on campus, these weekly stories might start featuring some of my Red & Yellow adventures. Don’t be alarmed; after a successful orientation week last week, my new 19-to-22-year-old peers have already proven to be intelligent, funny, exciting and full of stories themselves. I look forward to featuring some of them in the near future.

As my close friends and family will know, I was putting way too much pressure on myself and Le Scarf last year in an attempt to grow. In hindsight, the pressure may have detrimentally affected both me and the brand, but thankfully, Le Story continues.

Shoutout to all of you for the constant support, and shoutout to Red & Yellow for accepting me into their program.

Time to be a creative beast.

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Le Story ✍️

This week’s story is a throwback piece from Le Blogue #3. The “Dining Hall Mentality” helped me confidently approach new people during Red & Yellow’s orientation week.

Entering a brand-new community completely alone can be scary. We’ve all done it. My first core memory of this was while on a school exchange in America.

St. George’s was a co-ed boarding school in Rhode Island. I arrived a few weeks into their first semester, meaning Freshmen orientation had already happened and most friend groups had formed.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served in a Hogwarts-style dining hall. I remember holding my food tray with terror. I looked out at the sea of unfamiliar faces, trying to make eye contact with people I didn’t know.

It’s weird; if I had been instructed to sit in a specific seat, I would have done so easily. But because the seating arrangement was free for all, I had nowhere to go.

I didn’t want to sit alone because I knew I needed to meet people, so I walked up to a random table and asked if I could join them. Thankfully, due to my South African accent, people were interested in me for a brief moment before returning to their conversation about Barracko Bama or Enneff El (I can’t remember the exact details).

Each day, I’d face the same sea of unfamiliar faces. Each day, I’d sit down at a random table, explain my accent and then listen in on their niche conversations about American life.

After a few days, something special started happening. People from class or the previous meal would greet me in the food line and ask how I was enjoying the school; naturally, I took these opportunities to ask if I could join their table that day.

I slowly got to know people.

Two months later, when my time to return home to South Africa arrived, I departed with tears in my eyes. I had grown close to a lot of great people. I had become an SG Dragon (at least, in my heart I had become an SG Dragon).

I often reflect on the daily dining hall experience. It taught me that it can sometimes take multiple different interactions with different people before finding an energy you “click” with. Some people found their “click” energy a long time ago. Other people might never find it.

I’ve started seeing life as a simple dining hall. There are tables everywhere, but only some are right for your energy, and that’s okay.

So, pick up your metaphorical food tray, stand in some lines, approach a few tables, take a deep breath, look up and say hello to life.

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Le Neigh from Philosophical Horse 🐴

“Neigh” – Philosophical Horse.

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Le Question 🤔

Which table in the metaphorical dining hall do you need to approach today?

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Have a great Monday, everyone!

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Previous Newsletters:

(Remember to send this to someone who you think would enjoy Le Weekly)

#14 – Coffee Coffee ☕️
#13 – Leopard Picture 🐆
#12 – Clare’s Exhalations 🌸
#11 – Boiled Potatoes 🥔
#10 – Back Shampoo 🧼
#09 – Muscular Swallows 🐦
#08 – Long Wood 🪵
#07 – Impactful Leaf 🍃
#06 – Vulnerable Ankles 🦵
#05 – Sea Sea TV 📸
#04 – Treadmill Queue 💦
#03 – Lemonade 🍋
#02 – Meat Factory 🥩
#01 – Woolworths Maternitywear 👚